Like all her friends, D.C. mom Sarah Remes is eager to see her 11-year-old son vaccinated against coronavirus as soon as possible.

       Days before federal officials were expected to green light the shots for younger children, the Chevy Chase resident had locked down appointments at the local JCC as well as her child’s private school, and was ready to jump at the chance for a dose even earlier at a pediatrician’s office or pharmacy.

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       “The soonest available is when we’re going to do it,” she said.

       Remes is among the one-third of parents of 5- to 11-year-olds, a national survey from Kaiser Family Foundation shows, who want to get their kids vaccinated when they become eligible.

       Vaccination program for children 5 to 11 will be in full swing Nov. 8

       Pediatricians and schools here have been inundated with requests from parents racing to get their children vaccinated in time for Thanksgiving and winter holiday travel plans.

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       Yet the vaccine, which is specifically packaged and formulated for younger kids, will be limited at first, as clinics, doctor’s offices and pharmacies stock their shelves and update their procedures to include the youngest cohort of vaccine recipients so far.

       Some experts compared the phenomenon to the Hunger Games-style scramble that played out in winter and spring 2021, when the vaccine was first cleared for adults but supplies were extremely limited.

       Federal officials are expected late Tuesday to give the go-ahead to make the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available to as many as 28 million children in the United States, and soon after that parents should be able to search for appointments at vaccines.gov

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       D.C. region prepares to roll out coronavirus vaccine to 5- to 11-year-olds

       Public health officials in the Washington region are fine-tuning plans months in the making to offer vaccines in schools, doctor’s offices and pharmacies, but the logistics of rolling out millions of doses means not everyone can get vaccinated as soon as they’d like.

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       Fairfax County officials anticipate significant uptake of the vaccine among children ages 5 to 11, based on the high vaccination rate there among those 12 and older as well as adults, said Colin Brody, who is leading the county’s mass vaccination effort.

       “We are asking for patience in these initial days just as we work to bring online a new vaccine while we are also providing boosters and we still have folks coming in every day for dose number one,” he said.

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       As many as 80,000 of the county’s 97,000 eligible children are likely to seek vaccine in the next few months, Brody said, making it the biggest rollout since the spring. To accommodate the large numbers, the county is making vaccine available in phases.

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       At first, the county will focus on large-scale community vaccination sites at the county government centers at 12000 Government Center Parkway and 8350 Richmond Highway, as well as the state-run clinic in Tysons and at the Inova Center for Personalized Health. Pediatricians and pharmacies will also receive doses at this time.

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       In the early days, most places will require appointments, but walk-in slots will be available as supplies increase, he said.

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       “It’s a completely different vaccine, so we’re starting with zero on our shelves,” he said.

       Once the initial surge has subsided, parents can accompany their children to night and weekend clinics at school, and come early January, schools will vaccinate children during the day with parental consent.

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       NYC police unions warned vaccine mandates would pull 10,000 officers off streets. So far, the number is 34.

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